Operations.  W&T Offshore, Inc. and subsidiaries, referred to herein as “W&T” or the “Company,” is an independent oil and natural gas producer focused primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore Texas.  The Company is active in the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties.

Reclassifications.  Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior periods’ financial statements to conform to the current presentation.  Deferred income taxes – current asset was combined with Prepaid expenses and other assets on the Balance Sheet, Income taxes payable was combined with Accrued liabilities on the Balance Sheet, and changes in Other liabilities was combined with the changes in Accounts payable and accrued liabilities on the Statement of Cash Flows.   

Recent Accounting Developments.  In December 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities which applies to certain items in the statement of financial position (balance sheet), and was further clarified in January 2013 by ASU 2013-01, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, which clarified the scope of ASU 2011-11 to derivative instruments, repurchase agreements and securities lending transactions.  The effective date for the amendments is for annual periods beginning after January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods.  ASU 2011-11 requires disclosures of the gross and net amounts for items eligible for offset in the balance sheet.  The Company’s derivative financial instruments are subject to master netting agreements and the Company records its derivative financial instruments on a gross basis by contract; therefore, the revisions relate to disclosure of the Company’s derivative financial instruments on a net basis.  Other items of the ASUs were not applicable to the Company.    

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-04, Liabilities (Topic 405): Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date, which requires an entity that is joint and severally liable to measure the obligation as the sum of the amount the entity has agreed with co-obligors to pay and any additional amount it expects to pay on behalf of one or more co-obligors.  Required disclosures include a description of the nature of the arrangement, how the liability arose, the relationship with co-obligors and the terms and conditions of the arrangement.  The effective date for the amendment is for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods.  The amendment is to be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented.  The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2013-04 to determine the effects on the balance sheet and disclosures, if any.

In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-11, Income Taxes (Topic 740); Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists a consensus of the FASB Emerging Task Force, which provided guidance on the presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists.  This guidance requires an entity to present an unrecognized tax benefit as a liability in the financial statements if (i) a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward is not available at the reporting date under the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position, or (ii) the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction does not require the entity to use, and the entity does not intend to use, the deferred tax asset to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position. Otherwise, an unrecognized tax benefit is required to be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward.  Previously, there was diversity in practice as no explicit guidance existed. The amendment is effective for annual periods and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2013.  Early adoption is permitted and the amendment is to be applied prospectively.  The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2013-11 to determine the effects on the balance sheet and disclosures, if any.